October 5, 1658: Birth of Princess Maria Beatrice of Modena, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland

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Duke of York, Exclusionist, Glorious Revolution, James II-VII of England and Scotland, King Louis XIV of France, King Philip IV of Spain, Maria Beatrice of Modena, Popish Plot, Queen of England and Scotland, Titus Oates

Maria Beatrice of Modena (October 5, 1658 – May 7 1718) was queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the second wife of James II-VII (1633–1701). Maria Beatrice d’Este, the second but eldest surviving child of Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena, and his wife, Laura Martinozzi. A devout Roman Catholic, Maria Beatrice married the widower James, who was then the younger brother and heir presumptive of Charles II (1630–1685). She was uninterested in politics and devoted to James and their children, two of whom survived to adulthood: the Jacobite claimant to the thrones, James Francis Edward, and Louisa Maria.

The Duchess of York’s Catholic secretary, Edward Colman, was, in 1678, falsely implicated in a fictitious plot against the King by Titus Oates. The plot, known as the Popish Plot, led to the Exclusionist movement, which was headed by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. The Exclusionists sought to debar the Catholic Duke of York from the throne.

Their reputation in tatters, the Yorks were reluctantly exiled to Brussels, a domain of the King Felipe IV of Spain, ostensibly to visit Lady Mary—since 1677 the wife of Prince Willem III of Orange. Accompanied by her not yet three-year-old daughter Isabella and Lady Anne, the Duchess of York was saddened by James’s extra-marital affair with Catherine Sedley. Maria Beatrice’s spirits were briefly revived by a visit from her mother, who was living in Rome.

Despite all the furore over Exclusionism, James ascended to his brother’s thrones easily upon the latter’s death, which occurred on February 6, 1685 possibly because the said alternative could provoke another civil war. Maria Beatrice sincerely mourned Charles, recalling in later life, “He was always kind to me.” Maria Beatrice and James’s £119,000 coronation, occurring on April 23, OS, Saint George’s day, was meticulously planned. Precedents were sought for Mary because a full-length joint coronation had not occurred since the ceremony performed for Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon.

Maria Beatrice is primarily remembered for the controversial birth of James Francis Edward, her only surviving son. It was widely rumoured that he was a “changeling”, smuggled into the birth chamber in a warming pan, in order to perpetuate her husband’s Catholic Stuart dynasty. Although the accusation was almost certainly false, and the subsequent Privy Council investigation affirmed this, James Francis Edward’s birth was a contributing factor to the “Glorious Revolution”, the revolution which deposed James II and VII, and replaced him with Mary II, James II’s eldest protestant daughter from his first marriage to Anne Hyde (1637–1671). Mary II and her husband, Willem III of Orange, would reign jointly as “William III and Mary II”.

Exiled to France, the “Queen over the water”—as she was known among Jacobites call—Maria Beatrice lived with her husband and children at Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, provided by Louis XIV of France. Maria Beatrice was popular among Louis XIV’s courtiers; James, however, was considered a bore. In widowhood, Maria Beatrice spent time with the nuns at the Convent of Chaillot, frequently during summers with her daughter, Louisa Maria Teresa.

In 1701, when James II died, young James Francis Edward became king at age 13 in the eyes of the Jacobites. As he was too young to assume the nominal reins of government, Maria Beatrice represented him until he reached the age of 16. When young James Francis Edward was asked to leave France as part of the settlement from the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), Maria Beatrice of Modena stayed, despite having no family there, her daughter Louisa Maria Teresa having died of smallpox. Fondly remembered by her French contemporaries, Maria Beatrice died of breast cancer in 1718.

August 4, 1703: Birth of Louis, Duke of Orléans. Part I.

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Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, King Louis XIV of France, King of France, Louis d'Orléans, Louis XIV, Philippe II Duke of Orleans, Regent of France

Louis, Duke of Orléans (August 4, 1703 – February 4, 1752) was a member of the royal family of France, the House of Bourbon, and as such was a prince du sang. At his father’s death, he became the First Prince of the Blood (Premier Prince du Sang). Known as Louis le Pieux and also as Louis le Génovéfain, Louis was a pious, charitable and cultured prince, who took very little part in the politics of the time.

Louis, Duke of Orléans

Louis d’Orléans was born at the Palace of Versailles in 1703 to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and his wife, Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, the youngest legitimised daughter of King Louis XIV of France and Navarre and of his mistress Madame de Montespan. He was the only son of eight children, and at his birth, he was given the courtesy title of Duke of Chartres as the heir to the Orléans fortune and titles. His maternal grandfather, the king, in addition gave him the allowance reserved for the First Prince of the Blood, a rank he was not yet eligible to hold.

Louis was very close to his younger sister Louise Élisabeth d’Orléans, who was to become Queen of Spain for seven months in 1724. He was not, however, close to his older sister, Charlotte-Aglaé d’Orléans, the wife of Francesco d’Este, Duke of Modena. They were in frequent conflict during her many return visits to the French court from Modena

Regency

Upon the death of his maternal grandfather Louis XIV in 1715, his father (the old king’s nephew) was selected to be the regent of the country for the five-year-old new king, Louis XV. The court was moved to Paris so his father could govern the country with the young king close by his side. Louis XV was installed in the Palais du Louvre opposite the Palais-Royal, the Paris home of the Orléans family.

Françoise-Marie de Bourbon

During the regency, Orléans was seen as the “third personage of the kingdom” immediately after Louis XV and his own father, the Regent. He was formally admitted to the Conseil de Régence on January 30, 1718. Despite his father’s wishes, though, Orléans was never to play an overly public or political role in France. The following year, he was made the governor of the Dauphiné. He was not forced, however, to move there in order to fulfill his new duties. Later, he resigned.

Upon the death of his father on December 2, 1723, the twenty-year-old Louis assumed the hereditary title of Duke of Orléans and became the head of the House of Orléans. He also became the next in line to the throne of France until the birth of Louis XV’s first-born son in 1729.

This was because King Felipe V of Spain, the second son of Louis, the Grand Dauphin and uncle of the young king, had renounced his rights to the French throne for himself, and his descendants, upon his accession to the throne of Spain in 1700.

Although the Regent had hoped that his son would assume as prominent a role in government as he had, the post of prime minister went to Louis’ older cousin, Louis-Henri, Duke of Bourbon, when the Regent died. Constantly trying to consolidate and maintain his power at court, the Duke of Bourbon was always suspicious of Louis’ motivations and was frequently opposed to him.

In 1723, Orléans was conspicuous for his hostility to the former prime minister, Cardinal Dubois. Orléans also worked with Claude le Blanc and Nicolas Prosper Bauyn d’Angervilliers in the post of Secretary of State for War; Louis himself worked in this position from 1723–1730

July 12, 1651: Birth of Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain. Part II.

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Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, Holy Roman Empire, House of Bourbon, House of Habsburg, King Louis XIV of France, Margaret Theresa of Spain, Philip IV of Spain, Philip V of Spain, War of the Spanish Succession

Holy Roman Empress and German Queen

The Infanta Margaret-Theresa formally entered Vienna On December 5, 1666. The official marriage ceremony was celebrated seven days later. The Viennese celebrations of the imperial marriage were among the most splendid of all the Baroque era, and lasted almost two years.

The Emperor Leopold ordered the construction of an open-air theatre near the present Burggarten, with a capacity of 5,000 people. For Margaret-Theresa’s birthday in July 1668, the theatre hosted the premiere of the opera Il pomo d’oro (The Golden Apple). Composed by Antonio Cesti, the opera was called the “staging of the century” by contemporaries due to its magnificence and expense. The year before, the Emperor gave an equestrian ballet where he personally mounted on his horse, Speranza; due to technical adaptations, the ballet gave spectators the impression that horses and carriages were hovering in the air.

Margaret-Theresa, Holy Roman Empress

Despite the age difference, Leopold was 26 and Margaret-Theresa was 15 at the time of the marriage, according to contemporaries they had a happy marriage. The Empress always called her husband “Uncle” and he called her “Gretl”. The couple had many common interests, especially in art and music.

During her six years of marriage, Margaret gave birth to four children, of whom only one survived infancy:

* Ferdinand Wenceslaus Joseph Michael Eleazar (1667-1668), Archduke of Austria.
* Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella (1669-1692), Archduchess of Austria, who inherited her mother’s claims to the Spanish throne, married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria and was the mother of Joseph-Ferdinand of Bavaria.
* John Leopold (born and died 20 February 1670), Archduke of Austria.
* Maria Anna Josepha Antonia Apollonia Scholastica (February 9, 1672 – 23 February 1672), Archduchess of Austria.

The Empress was intensely anti-Semitic, and inspired her husband to expel the Jews from Vienna, because she believed that they were to blame for her children’s deaths. During the Corpus Christi celebration of 1670, the Emperor ordered the destruction of the Vienna synagogue and a church was built on the site on his orders.

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

Even after her marriage, Margaret-Theresa kept her Spanish customs and ways. She did not speak German, and the arrogance of her native retinue led to a strong anti-Spanish sentiment among the imperial court. The courtiers openly expressed the hope that the weak Empress would soon die and thus give Leopold I the opportunity of a second marriage.

Death

During her last pregnancy Margaret-Theresa fell ill with bronchitis; this, along with her already weakened health due to four living childbirths and at least two miscarriages during her marriage, caused her early death on March 12, 1673, at the age of 21.

She was buried in the Imperial Crypt, in Vienna. Only four months later, the widower Emperor – despite his grief for the death of his “only Margareta” (as he remembered her) – entered into a second marriage with Archduchess Claudia-Felicitas of Austria, member of the Tyrol branch of the House of Habsburg.

After Margaret-Theresa’s death, her rights over the Spanish throne were inherited by her only surviving daughter Maria-Antonia, who in turn passed them to her only surviving son Prince Joseph-Ferdinand of Bavaria when she died in 1692.

After Joseph-Ferdinand’s early death in 1699, the rights of inheritance were disputed by both Emperor Leopold I and King Louis XIV of France, son-in-law of King Felipe IV, and grandson of King Felipe III. The outcome of the War of the Spanish Succession was the creation of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon in the person of King Felipe V, Margaret’s great-nephew.

Daughter

Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria

Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria (January 18, 1669 – December 24, 1692) the eldest daughter and only surviving child of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and his wife Infanta Margaret-Theresa of Spain. She was the heir to the Spanish throne after her maternal uncle Carlos II of Spain from 1673 until her death. Archduchess Maria-Antonia of Austria was an Electress of Bavaria by marriage to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria.

On July 11, 2020, I featured Maria-Antonia of Austria’s husband, Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, here on the blog.

https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2020/07/11/july-11-1662-birth-of/

James II-VII Flees England.

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England, Glorious Revolution, Ireland, King James II of England, King James II-VII of England and Scotland, King Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV, Prince of Orange, Scotland, William III of England

On this day in 1688. James II-VII King of England, Scotland and Ireland attempted to flee England during the Glorious Revolution. On the way, he threw the Great Seal into the Thames, preventing a Parliament from being called. He was caught by a fisherman in Kent and returned to London on Dec. 16 and placed under Dutch protective guard. Having no desire to make James II-VII a martyr, Prince Willem IIII, Prince of Orange, let him escape on December 23. James II-VII was received by his maternal first cousin and ally, King Louis XIV of France and Navarre (1643-1715) offered him a palace and a pension.

Pretenders to the Throne ~ France, part I

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Fundamental Laws of Succession to the French Crown, Hugh Capet, King Charles X of France, King Felipe III of Spain, King Felipe V of Spain, King Louis XIV of France, King of France, Louis Philippe, Pretenders to the Throne, Salic Law

One of the most interesting battles for the claims to a vacant or non existent throne is that of France. The argument rests on the legality of the renunciation of rights to the French throne by King Felipe V of Spain (1700-1746) and his descendents at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. Felipe V (Philippe Duc d’Anjou) was born a French prince and a grandson of King Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) and also a great-grandson of King Felipe III of Spain (1598-1621) from whose descent he was appointed successor to the childless King Carlos II of Spain (1665-1700).

Today there are two claimants from different lines of the House of Bourbon: Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou is the senior male heir of Hugh Capet, King of France (987-996). Louis Alphonse is also the senior descendant of King Louis XIV of France through his grandson King Felipe V of Spain. By the Legitimist faction of French royalists he is recognized as the rightful claimant to the French crown.

The other claimant to the French crown is Prince Henri of Orléans, Comte de Paris and Duc de France. Prince Henri is a descendant of King Louis Philippe (1830-1848), the last King of France and he is the current head of the Orléans line of the Bourbon dynasty.

The issues are complicated so I will attempt to give a basic readers digest version of how the two rival claims arouse. Succession to the thrones of all monarchies are governed by laws. There are two basic fundamental laws that governed the succession to the French throne. The First is the Salic Law which states that the succession is via male only primogeniture and that women could neither inherit the throne for themselves nor pass on succession rights to their sons. The other relevant law is that a French prince could not renounce their rights to the throne.

In 1830 King Charles X of France (1824-1830) was deposed in a revolution. He unsuccessfully tried to abdicate the throne in favor of his eldest son, Louis Antoine, Duc d’Angoulême whom the Legitimist faction call King Louis XIX of France and Navarre. His tenure on the French throne was brief and never recognized for 30 minutes later Louis XIX abdicated his claim to the throne to his nephew Henri of Artois, Count of Chambord. The Count of Chambord claimed the throne of France as Henri V until the Chamber of Deputies proclaimed his distant cousin, Louis Philippe, Duc d’Orléans as King of the French on August 9, 1830. The Legitimist faction view Louis-Philippe as a usurper to the French throne.

Technically he was a usurper. The National Assembly named Louis Philippe Lieutenant général du royaume, and gave him the responsibility to proclaim to the Chamber of Deputies his desire to have his cousin, Henri V, Count of Chambord mount the French throne. Louis Philippe failed to do this in an attempt to seize the throne for himself. This hesitation gave the Chamber of Deputies time to consider Louis Philippe in the role of king due to his liberal policies and his popularity with the general public. Despite Louis Philippe being regent for Henri V the Chamber of Deputies proclaimed Louis Philippe as the new French king, displacing the senior branch of the House of Bourbon which was in direct violation of the Fundamental Laws of Succession to the French Crown.

This concludes part I. Tomorrow Part II will show the rise of the rival claims in the aftermath of the reign of Louis Philippe.

Louis Philippe, King of the French 1830-1848